Osmose keyboard

[Nathanael_I]

Very cool, Phil!  I don’t have shipment notice yet, but am looking forward.  I appreciate your thoughts. 

[uhoh7]

Great report Phil! 

I'm hoping one of the earlybirds will be a hand surgeon and fan of Hanon who will come up with a Osmose edition informed by biomechanics to get us on a fast track to independent finger tactics

 

I've been playing with the Taiga, which has considerable analog waveform antics available, and Eagan's comments in one presentation juxtapose: "the MPE+ interaction with just a sine wave on the SHARC dsp will get you lost for hours... " Something about 32bit floating points makes up for very low memory on the SHARC. 

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cache//b/b/p/bbp2372.2000.154/bbp2372.2000.154.pdf#page=1zoom=75

I need to learn the Matrix basics just to try out the "CVC" Haken sent me, 4 channels x 4 CV outputs configurable in the editor apparently. The funny thing about it: all outputs are 1/4"! It has a special hi-rez 5-pin with normal Midi thru. 

https://www.hakenaudio.com/voltage-converter

The last accessory (I hope) I fell for is a Pyramide resonator (budget version) I might see by end of april, by which time I should have a few hours on the Osmose. Haken and Eagan like a smaller, more portable "Onde", but this supposedly has incredible bass on top of the mids and highs. There is no way to tell, since our speakers cannot make these effects. I'll report. 

https://www.la-voix-du-luthier.com/produit/pyramide-essential/

 

haha...I don't know how I missed this one:

 

I can hear the conversations:

Guitar Person: "Oh...nice try"

Key Person "Why would I want to sound like a guitar?" LOL

[Lady Gaia]

Delighted to see your positive report, @Phil Aiken, even if I'll admit to being a little disappointed that my day one order is shipping after your day three order has already arrived.  Still, it made evident progress today in advancing to the "processing" stage this evening so I hope to have a tracking number before much longer.

[Nathanael_I]

I was a first day order as well, but I’m not sure that matters at this point. I got the confirmation they processed payment today. So I think I’m with @Lady Gaia that shipping should be soon. 

[Lady Gaia]

Mine shipped yesterday, but it's coming to my island residence so it will take a little longer.  It's scheduled to be here next Tuesday!  Better yet, we may be getting close to the point in our kitchen remodel where things can be restored to some semblance of normality.  My music desk has been shrouded behind plastic for months.

[uhoh7]

Another great one from Jack....

 

 

Yes they are appearing on American doorsteps......mine is due early in the week, knock on wood. My beloved Access Virus TI may have spend some time in the closet......I haven't told it yet...the Hammond and the piano are like...go ahead weakling....just try to move us. But I can't do without the piano acoustics or the hammond pedals anyway. My moxf6 is deployed to harass the hardware with it's nutty arps, but it's so light I take it up and down. This new jewel...I'm going to have to decide how to deploy....standing which I like....sitting....probably practical, or two adjacent nests, one of each. Hmmm. 

[Nathanael_I]

Mine came!  No shipping confirmation, but it and the bag just showed up. Off to symphony in 10 min, but its here!

 

 

[Nathanael_I]

First thoughts after unboxing, updating firmware and playing for a few hours - in no particular order…

 

- The Osmose is very well made. It exudes quality. Evidence of care is everywhere. All those production notes we received about manufacturing samples and design changes went to good use. They clearly shipped it when it was ready and not before. It’s like they knew that someone needed to do this truly well to move the industry. 
 

- It is all the goodness the Roli Seaboard lacks. It’s real keys. Adaptation from other keyboards is very fast.  I’ve never missed the Seaboard - it just wasn’t worth the user experience or learning curve. It was not capable of classical instrument subtlety, though it offered more than a standard key bed.
 

- The Osmose IS sensitive like an acoustic instrument.  It responds naturally. The high internal sample rate that I first experienced on the Non-Linear Labs C15, definitely makes a seamless finger-to-sound connection.  The haptics are ‘natural’ - which says to me that they obsessed over it.  
 

- Because it is an extension of keyboard technique and not all new, it easily passes my bar for “worth it to learn”.  The Seaboard did not.  As much as the Continuum is deeply impressive, the Osmose’s keyboard interface is the expressive surface I want, from pitch layout, to rough feel. The Osmose delivers for keyboard-oriented players.  This is the MPE controller for us. 
 

- The performance controls and preset tweaking all are very straightforward. No manual needed. 
 

- the keys have their own feel. The top part of travel is like an unweighted synth action, but more controllable. Then there’s a soft “bottom” that’s kind of like an aftertouch strip, but, you can push through it to the full aftertouch, which is deep and controllable. The side to side motion is easy to control for vibrato. I have not set out to master guitar style bends yet, but they are clearly possible. 
 

- that they are selling this for $1800 is a bargain. At the preorder price, it’s the least expensive synth I own, and yet, the most expressive!

 

I have not tried the Eagen matrix editor yet. I’ve watched training vids.  That will be a longer term project. I’ve still got most of the internal presets to go, so until I’ve sorted that, I’m unlikely to start with an “init” patch.  It is likely the most powerful synth engine I own - and the deepest. So, it will be its own journey. 

[UnderGroundGr]

7 hours ago, Nathanael_I said:

- the keys have their own feel. The top part of travel is like an unweighted synth action, but more controllable. Then there’s a soft “bottom” that’s kind of like an aftertouch strip, but, you can push through it to the full aftertouch, which is deep and controllable. The side to side motion is easy to control for vibrato. I have not set out to master guitar style bends yet, but they are clearly possible.

I am happy about your keybed opinion because i believe that i can play it. If it was heavy i cannot because the tendonitis of my right shoulder...

[AnotherScott]

Is anyone thinking about this as the top tier of a 2-board gigging pair (i.e. over a more suitable "piano" board)? I suspect the action may not be very amenable to organ, but is likely to be fine for most other top-tier use if you can manage with just 49 keys, at least if you got your "rompler" sounds over MIDI (whether from your bottom board, an attached iPad, whatever). Though the lack of a set of conveniently located definable patch recall buttons is unfortunate.

[bfields]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

Though the lack of a set of conveniently located definable patch recall buttons is unfortunate.

Does anyone know whether it's possible to change patches over midi?  I took a quick look at the docs and couldn't tell.

[Nathanael_I]

5 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

Is anyone thinking about this as the top tier of a 2-board gigging pair (i.e. over a more suitable "piano" board)? I suspect the action may not be very amenable to organ, but is likely to be fine for most other top-tier use if you can manage with just 49 keys, at least if you got your "rompler" sounds over MIDI (whether from your bottom board, an attached iPad, whatever). Though the lack of a set of conveniently located definable patch recall buttons is unfortunate.

Given the very serious organ players here, I’m not sure it is at all suitable for that.  For me, Hammond-ish things are a texture or a timbre. I am not an organist. I can play the little of that I need on an 88 note keyboard. The purists can cringe. I have much respect for organ players. I’m just not one. But this as a synth over an 88?  Sure!  I think it works as a synth over a synth too for those not doing traditional music. 

[David Emm]

6 hours ago, Nathanael_I said:

Given the very serious organ players here, I’m not sure it is at all suitable for that.  For me, Hammond-ish things are a texture or a timbre. I am not an organist. I can play the little of that I need on an 88 note keyboard. The purists can cringe. I have much respect for organ players. I’m just not one. But this as a synth over an 88?  Sure!  I think it works as a synth over a synth too for those not doing traditional music. 

 

First, congrats on landing one. Second, I basically agree with you as to its role in a setup. As its just now getting into eager hands, that will have to define itself over time. The word unique is a stand-alone, not "very" or "almost." This is perfectly unique. It will take a while for its initial impressiveness to become more integrated with the synth lexicon, because its KEYS on top of the 5-D base. Everything else has required a lot of mastering time that's only paid off in subtle ways. The Osmose can prominently bark from the outset. I'm still thinking of it as a soloing instrument, but that will surely change as we go.     

 

Lady Gaia pinged my brain when she mentioned her iffy shoulder. My hands are too nerve damaged to embrace even an Osmose, so its dark luck that my flat controllers serve my needs just fine. She makes an interesting point, as the disabilities of some musicians might fade into the background with this keyboard design.

 

Please take note of this very detailed review from SOS. It answers a lot of questions.

 

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/expressive-e-osmose

 

[uhoh7]

Congrats!!!

 

Here is the most detailed review I have yet seen of the Osmose. Price of view: you must configure YT to auto-translate, but the french-english is the best I've yet seen.

This guy is independent, serious producer, has had the rig for 3 months, and production is pretty slick  

[uhoh7]

 

The Holy Keys are out of the box, which arrived pristine, as if carried by angels.....it's lighter and more compact than I imagined....lapable I suspect. The touch....no power nothing..the first touch...very very deep and sweet. A unique action, no doubt. 

 

Now I'll have to see if it works

[ElmerJFudd]

https://fb.watch/jzrgXY-ZTC/

 

JR has one.  

[uhoh7]

Update

Firmware update with Mojave was seamless, but I hear Apple Silicon and newer OS can be tricky. 

 

They hit it out of the park with this thing. No kidding. Build is best I have ever seen in an electronic instrument. I could do without a wallwart, true. Keys are slick in a good way like the Hammond Baklite, and the blacks are crazy tall. 

 

Melodies and simple polyphony, the factory presets are immersing, with considerable variety, many pleasant surprises. Some incredible "analog polys". Sound quality excellent. There is no overstating the single note expression advancement. What is a bit more hidden is the backward compatibility. The way envelopes work in the Haken presets, it's incredible, you can make so many different ones, but polyphony at speed with such a preset is.... nearly every preset has some sustain, and the organs all bend...so when you try that hymn..well the congregation might throw you out   But I found a few presets which showed me piano decay is possible, and turning effects off organ presets...better. Then I just used the MIDI din to the Korg Micropiano, and, while squishy, the action was playable, and I think would be perfectly usable in "typewriter" mode. IE The board is versatile. 

 

Totally worth the wait, glad I lived to see this thing. It is, well like Jack shows, very fun and invites you to explore. You will still want conventional organs and pianos, for sure, but I think learning to get a handle on the Osmose will make those feel easier...not a bad thing. I can't see how any keyboard player would not be delighted to have one of these in the house, honestly. And if somebody did hate it, I doubt these will ever be hard to sell. 

 

For leads at a gig? Man, this thing is to die for. Just put something "normal" under it for the comping

[Nathanael_I]

+1 to @uhoh7’s take.  It doesn’t replace anything I own. It’s a massively excellent addition. If all I use it for is leads, it’s worth it. But nuanced pad swells without pedals?  Yes please, and thank you - fully playable from the keys. 

[Jose EB5AGV]

All these praising comments are deeply worrying my wallet... 😅

[Lady Gaia]

5 hours ago, EB5AGV said:

All these praising comments are deeply worrying my wallet... 😅

You can reassure your wallet that, as unique an instrument as it is, it's also quite aggressively priced.  I got mine night before last and haven't had as much time with it as I'd like, but the action lives up to all the hopes I had for something familiar yet incredibly nuanced and expressive.

 

I've found myself lost in a number of presets, just experimenting with new techniques to see what's possible.  I do think a few too many of them are overly processed sounding, but there's so much variety that it's easy to find something to taste – or in many cases to simply tweak with the defined macros and EQ/compression/effects to achieve something utterly usable.

[uhoh7]

Now that I've had a night's sleep and a deeper dive into the presets.....I've been pulling out my standards collections and playing my old flames. Everything old is new again. While quite a few patches are hard to control, or goofy; I'm finding many more than I first thought which are enchanting deployed to an old favorite, with chords. We all know how to drop voices, need be, and it's an extra pleasure when those still in play have such color choices.

 

It is a spectacular synth, and a marriage of hard to soft wares as I've never seen or imagined. As to the lack of keys....I promise you won't be thinking about it after you start in with an Osmose. Order two if you must

 

OK....the sliders are a little goofy. The big square buttons above them, just the opposite, taking a very hard press to move to the next preset. I guess to prevent accidentally doing so. The Osmose has personality, as you might expect from a creature just landed...from Jupiter....with skills.

[uhoh7]

On 3/7/2023 at 10:48 PM, UnderGroundGr said:

Can an owner tell me about the keyboard feel? It's like a synth semi weighted action? I have tendonitis and i cannot play with heavy actions...

Just to follow up now that I have an Osmose and am exploring it.

 

The sensitivity can be set so an extremely light touch makes sound...a little or a lot. This can be set globally, or by each preset. In short if you are willing to learn the settings, which are not complicated, the intro video covers them, I believe you can adjust the touch of this keyboard for a very light impact on tendons etc. 

 

So it's not a heavy action to begin with, although it does have a long potential travel to the "base" and then a soft push in a deep aftertouch. But if you don't care to "travel", in 60 seconds or less you can adjust the action so the lightest touch makes all the sound you might need, and save that. Of course that will not give you so much control over the envelope, but with say, an E piano voice, it's fine, and with a little tuning you can have remarkable control with slight variation in pressure. 

 

So of course the physical problems keyboard players have are varied, greatly. But IMHO the Osmose is also perhaps the first truly "adaptive" keyboard, tunable to very low imapct playing. More than I imagined is possible.

 

PS Organ players...of which I know there are many here. I have just revised my accessment of the Osmose as B3 controller. I think it has serious potential for reasons related to what I wrote above. At first I thought with these super tall black keys, how am I gonna slide? When you make it "super sensitive"....the wide area forward of the raised blacks does epic slides with a fingertip. That's been shown a few times in demos, but I forgot it. Just accidentally did that.....then on purpose. Yes, on top of everything it's the greatest glissando machine ever....LOL

[GovernorSilver]

Love Hulten strikes again!  He's made so many great pieces but seemingly never sells them so he must have a huge house or a very crowded one

 

https://www.lovehulten.com/osmose.html

[nursers]

53 minutes ago, GovernorSilver said:

Love Hulten strikes again!  He's made so many great pieces but seemingly never sells them so he must have a huge house or a very crowded one

 

https://www.lovehulten.com/osmose.html

I saw this a little while back as well - now that's art, amazing.

[Nathanael_I]

Pre-order for Sept-Oct delivery is open for new orders.  See the Expressive-E site.  

[uhoh7]

I have a preset on now, called op offset. I have the sensitivity tweaked a bit.

 

Forget the lateral motion or the deep poly AT for a sec....it's a polysynth sound, I have it pretty clean. 

 

You press a key...the volume increases as you descend and decreases as you raise the key...gate is open. A very slight touch makes noise. I never had a keyboard behave like this, I tried a ton of presets on various rigs to be sure.

 

It allows a whole new type of finger excercise. Say your chord change has a common note, can you make it without changing the sustain volume on the held key? With my settings it's so touchy that raising two fingers adds weight....and volume to the sustained note..unless you really compensate..and this varies by finger held and which fingers are raised. You can play arpeggios like this too, never letting any note go silent...totally addictive. Can't hurt your touch on the other boards, I'm thinking.

 

In the senstivity settings I can dumb down the same preset to remove 90% of that touchiness. Often this changes the sound of the preset altogether....not  usually in a negative way, just a different character. 

 

An excercise that involves very slow movements, yet is interesting...dynamic. 

 

We gotta think of an addtional "unbranded" name for this thing, like organ, clavichord, piano, harpsichord (clavicembalo in Italian), and my favorite: virginal.

 

Envelope+piano=enviano? 

 

Bebung (German: a trembling) When a clavichord key is pressed, a small metal tangent strikes a string and remains in contact with it for as long as the key is held down. By applying a rocking pressure up and down the key with the finger, a performer can slightly alter the tension of the string itself, producing the vibrato quality known as bebung. 

 

Trembolin?

 

Polybebung?

 

Clavilatérale? (It's french, afterall) or Forte-Latérale?

 

Trémolophone?  Or....Polydoigt? The 'g' and 't' are silent, so doigt is pronounced, 'dwah'....oh yeah... the Polydwah.....parfait! Je l'aime le nouvelle polydoigt, vraiment! Mai...peut être....le "Claviatone"?

 

 

[stoken6]

8 hours ago, uhoh7 said:

Clavilatérale? (It's french, afterall) or Forte-Latérale?

I do like Clavitéral and Fortéral. "Clavier" is masculine so no trailing "e". (Forte is an Italian adjective, so has no intrinsic gender, not sure what to do with that one, but it looks more "real French" without the e)

 

Regard, Mike.

 

 

 

 

[mate stubb]

Ordered mine in December 2019. Still patiently waiting. Last word I had was May, but here it is April and I haven't been contacted about payment.

[GovernorSilver]

14 minutes ago, mate stubb said:

Ordered mine in December 2019. Still patiently waiting. Last word I had was May, but here it is April and I haven't been contacted about payment.

 

I had to log onto my account at https://www.expressivee.com/ to check the status of my order.   If they sent an email about it, it probably got swallowed by a junk mail filter.

[Motif88]

Despite having recently purchased the Hydrasynth Deluxe, I finally pulled the trigger, and placed my order via Sweetwater with 3 easy payments. I seem to be re-creating my 1980’s multi keyboard setup. 

 

Has anyone heard anything about lead time via Sweetwater?